She Laughs. He Laughs. They Laugh.

There is a woman in the Bible who is described as “being clothed with strength and dignity”, and here’s the part that really gets to me – “she laughs without fear of the future.” (Proverbs 31:25). I want to be that woman. I think we all long to be described like her, but I’m not sure we’d define ourselves as having no fear and “laughing” about the future.

How can we laugh when just over the weekend a shooter killed 7 people and over 21 were injured in Odessa, TX? In Chicago, gang members shot 66 people from 6 p.m. on Friday to midnight on Sunday and 12 of those victims have died. Then there’s Hurricane Dorian that is responsible for 5 deaths as it slammed into the Bahamas. And now, officials urged 2wo over two million people in Florida, Georgia and North and South Carolina to evacuate. So how can this Proverbs “laughing” woman possibly be laughing without fear of the future? When threats swirl around us, is it realistic to think this is even possible?

I believe God wants all of us to laugh without fear of the future. More clues about this woman’s sense of humor occur a little later in Proverbs 31:30 when she is described as a “woman who fears the Lord.” What does it mean to fear God? As a child I “feared” the Lord because I was afraid of Him and "His big stick". It was an unhealthy fear. I had little sense that God loved me. That changed when I understood that He so loved me He sent Jesus to die for me, and when I believed in Him, He adopted me as His daughter. Now I had hope in His love. “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love.” Psalm 147:11

The fear of the Lord that brings God pleasure is not our being afraid of Him, but reverencing Him. To “fear Him” means to stand in awe of Him: “Let all the earth FEAR the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." (Psalm 33:8) To fear the Lord is being in awe of His majesty, power, wisdom, justice, and mercy. To fear God means to know His great love and His desires for us to turn away from sin.

To fear God is to relate to Him as a child relates to his strong, faithful and loving father. We respect and honor the Lord, and we want to please Him. So, we obey Him. We know that He loves us and delights in us. The fear of the Lord is a wonderful gift from God that has brought joy and gladness into my life and has spared me from unimaginable pain and suffering. God tells us that to fear Him will lead to all kinds of wonderful blessings in our lives. I know that is why I am so blessed. “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life….” (Proverbs 14:27) “In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and His children will have a refuge.” (Proverbs 14:26)

So we can LAUGH with no fear of the future because, like that “laughing” Proverbs woman, we fear God. We stand in awe of Him, take refuge in Him, and hope in His steadfast love. It brings the Lord pleasure when we trust in Him with all our hearts. He holds us and our future. No wonder we can LOL -- laugh out loud! 🤣🤣🤣

The Legacy of Billy Graham

These were some of the headlines of news releases yesterday: From U.S. News: “Billy Graham, America's pastor, has died”; From CNN: “Billy Graham, whose 'matchless voice changed the lives of millions,' dies at 99; NBC News: “Billy Graham, evangelist, pastor and counselor to presidents, dead at age 99”.

No words of defamation. No words of scandal. No words of scorn. Only words of character, honor, dignity and integrity about a true servant of God who had the biggest heart for winning people to Christ. He redefined American life by popularizing Christianity's core message — Christ died for your sins — downplaying denominational details and proclaiming the joys found in faith.

The accolades inspired me to write this post today. Only God knows the number of souls that came into a relationship with Jesus of Billy Graham's life and message. My earliest memories of Billy Graham were of hearing his message of placing our lives in the hands of God, and then the song "Just As I Am" would be sung by the massive choir, and there would be droves of people who went forward to receive Christ as their Savior.

Two years ago, I was walking through the halls of Northwestern University, St. Paul, MN, while at the NCFCA National Speech & Debate Competition with my grandchildren. I passed this portrait of Billy Graham many times. I knew I needed to take a photo of it. His portrait is 2nd in line of all the other presidents. In 1947, at age 30, Billy Graham became the 2nd president there, and at the time, was the youngest person to serve as a sitting president of any U.S. college or university. He served as president from 1948 to 1952 when he resigned to become a full-time minister.

I thought about his legacy, the seeds he planted in the future generations there, and how that legacy laid the foundation of "seed time and harvest" of his future. While Billy has crossed his finish line, those young people in that university and the rest of us who were impacted by his ministry, will continue to plant seeds that will influence others for Christ. Surely this scripture applies: "Truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces much fruit." John 12:24.

Billy Graham's heart for reaching out to the masses with the love of Jesus could not be confined to a university. He carried it to the world and millions came to know Christ because of his message. No doubt, the heavenly choirs were assembled and the bands were already tuning up for Billy’s grand entrance into heaven. Hearing about his passing and remembering those halls of Northwestern University, has increased my own desire to live with a determined purpose to know Christ more and to share His love passionately.

A General of Faith went home yesterday, but we’re still here to pick up the baton he left for us to run with. That baton in our hands is the same baton Christ gave us and it is to continue to spread the Good News, sow into this generation encouragement and help steer them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. Then we, too, will not only impact this generation, but the generations to come.

With all the scandalous stories of high profile individuals that seem to come down the pipe daily, it gives me such appreciation for someone (anyone) who stays the course of faithfulness to God and family, who lives what he preaches, and who lives with passion of taking as many souls with him to heaven as possible.

In his autobiography, Just As I Am, he wrote, "If anything has been accomplished through my life, it has been solely God's doing, not mine, and He-not I-must get the credit." Along with God's words to Billy when he entered the pearly gates, I'm joining in with mine, too! "Well done, good and faithful servant, Billy Graham. Thank you, God, for giving us a true and faithful role model to follow." RIP, Billy Graham.

Happy Birthday, Mom! You Sure Make Me Want to Up My Game!

Today is my sweet mother-in-law's 94th birthday. It's such a good time to express my love and gratitude for her -- especially because if it weren't for the love that she and Dad had for each other, then their precious gift of their son to me would never have been. Mom's life represents my life with the most precious, loving, tender and giving man I ever knew. Was he a perfect man? No. But he was perfect for me.

Oh how I thank Mom for the MANY prayers for us right from the very beginning when I was 12 and he was 13 -- when we were just kids and didn’t know about life and responsibilities and what true love was all about. I thank her (and my mom) for praying us together.

I will always love the story of her turning her little ceramic Holland boy and girl away from each other when we had a spat, and when we made up, she put them back together again. That story tells a lot about her encouragement, her prayers and her support of us for so many years. I thank Mom for instilling such strong faith in her son, for the man of God he was, for the sense of humor, and, even for those “perfection” qualities that made him so detailed, always expecting excellence from all of us. I thank her for instilling in him his musical gifts that gave so many people such encouragement and joy. I thank her for everything about this precious man that filled my life, and so many others, with love and joy.

Our love for each other stood the test of time, the test of raising kids, the test of tough times and the good times, the test of sickness and in health, the test of trusting God through every challenge and the greatest test of all -- the test of "till death do us part". She never wanted to see her son go to heaven before she did, but her resilience, strong faith and trust in God during those times even gave me the fortitude to carry on strong.

I share Mom's 94th birthday with you, my FB friends and family, to show you an example of what a mother-in-law should look like -- oh, not the exterior, though she is and always has been a beautiful, stately woman, but she did the best of what God called her to do -- to be a Proverbs 31 woman -- the one that her children ALL rise up and call her blessed. Sure makes me want to up my game!

Mom, I celebrate the gift of you into my life and to so many others who have been impacted by your grace, dignity, and beauty for so many years! I love you so much......Donna